1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to computer assisted test systems, and particularly to a system and method for testing an embedded system.
2. Description of Related Art
An embedded system is a special-purpose computer system designed to perform one or more dedicated functions. Embedded systems are usually embedded as part of a complete device including hardware and mechanical parts. Embedded systems range from systems having no display terminals to systems having display terminals similar to desktop operating systems in devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs).
It is necessary to verify design and operation of embedded systems. At present, there are mainly two modes to test embedded systems. One such mode includes executing test programs in a device with an embedded system, and displaying test results on a display terminal of the embedded system. Application of this test mode is very constrictive, since it can only be applied towards embedded systems having display terminals.
Another such test mode includes connecting a device with an embedded system to a host computer having a user interface via a network, loading a test program to memory (e.g., a flash read only memory) of the device, executing client programs of the test program on the host computer to enable the test programs in the memory of the device, feeding back test results from the device, and showing the test results on the user interface of the host computer. This test mode is widely used now, especially towards embedded systems having no display terminals. However, the second test mode also have drawbacks: Firstly, loading test programs to the device takes much test time. Secondly, the test program takes up much memory space of the device. Thirdly, since the device and the host computer are two independent systems, the test results may not be displayed when one of the two devices (i.e., the device and the host computer) does not work normally.
What is needed, therefore, is a testing system and method for an embedded system, which can deduce test time, save memory space of the device and improve test efficiency.